March 19, 2010
Taking the Time to Make a Difference
Who is my neighbor?
BY PAUL R. LEINGANG
(Listen to Paul read this column | Weekly podcast)
“Paul, this is your neighbor,” said the voice on the phone. He had never called me at work before, so I wondered why he was calling now.
Bob was a one-man neighborhood watch association. If it happened on our street, he knew about it. More than just “knew about it” — as that might describe a person finding out something after the fact. Bob probably watched it happen.
After a few polite words of neighborly pleasantry, Bob told me why he was calling: the front door of my house was wide open.
My wife and I live in a comfortable, established neighborhood. No one could say that there was never any crime in the area, but it certainly would be unusual. And if there were any evil-doing taking place, it was a pretty sure bet that Bob would know about it.
That’s why he promised to continue to watch my front door, until I could get home to secure the property. If anyone were to go in or out of that door, Bob would see him. He had a perfect vantage point from a second floor window of his home across the street from mine.
On the way home, I thought about the possibilities. I was all but positive that we must have left the door unlocked and not quite tightly closed. That’s what I wanted to think.
I didn’t want to think about the possibility someone had found his way into the house while my wife and I were gone. I was pretty sure it was just a fluke, a careless departure on my part, just the wind that pushed its way into my home.
It was a windy day, after all. That was reassuring. And the wind was coming from the north, I noticed. That was a good sign.
But, I thought, there had been an unusual amount of traffic around a particular house nearby. There were cars that did not come from our neighborhood, Bob had said. They only stopped for a short time, perhaps just long enough for the driver or a passenger to go in, say hello and, and what? I wondered.
* * *
What would you be thinking at this point?
Would you worry, as I did, about storing up treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal? Jesus advised us against such a habit, according to chapter six of Matthew’s Gospel.
Would you worry about the threat of danger? That someone who had entered might still be inside?
(Or would you wonder, at least a little, what else does Bob know about my life?)
* * *
I drove past my house, then into the driveway. I slammed the car door extra hard and stomped my way to the back door. It was locked.
I opened it with as much noise as I could make — just in case someone was inside, someone who would have the good criminal sense to run out of the open front door. (He wouldn’t know that Bob was watching.)
Nothing was touched. Nothing out of place. Only the wind had found entry.
The only thing lost was a little bit of my sense of security and a little bit of my trust in the goodness of all my neighbors.
As I recall this incident, I know that Bob is now watching from an eternal window, so I am more watchful myself. Our doors are always locked and tightly shut.
And the police have taken care of that unusual traffic.
* * *
If you are concerned about your treasures, and about who is watching them, take the time to get to know your neighbors better.
The answer to the question, “Who is my neighbor?” is not always a Samaritan, a traveler or a stranger. The people next door and across the street, they are my neighbors too.
The watchful care of neighbors for each other may well prove to be stronger than the locks on the doors of our homes. Caring for each other is what makes a difference.
Comments are welcome at office@cfm.org or the Christian Family Movement, P.O. Box 925, Evansvsille, IN 47706-0925